Wellington : a new biography / Elizabeth Longford.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Longford, Elizabeth, 1906-2002.

Series:

Sutton pocket biographies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of, 1769-1852.

Wellington, Arthur Wellesley.

Generals--Great Britain--Biography.

Generals.

Great Britain.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xx, 139 pages : illustrations, maps ; 20 cm.

Place of Publication:

Stroud : Sutton, 2001.

Summary:

Wellington, the Iron Duke, is one of the most famous military commanders of British history. This concise life by eminent biographer Elizabeth Longford looks at not only his Army career, but the full story of the man, from his childhood in Ireland, the sensitive younger son of an aristocratic family, through to his time as Prime Minister, and his death in 1852 at the age of eighty-three.

Born as Arthur Wellesley in 1769, he was seen by his parents as the underachiever of the family, and was thrown on to the battlefield as 'food for powder'. He made his reputation in the bloody conflicts at Assaye in India and the fearsome battles of the Peninsular War, and returned from his famous victory at Waterloo a hero. In England and France, beautiful women swarmed around Wellington, who enjoyed the new adulation that his much-vaunted success brought. Yet his marriage to Kitty Pakenham endured, and when Kitty became ill, he did not leave her side until her death.

In 1828, George IV appointed Wellington Prime Minister. Despite being responsible for the Catholic emancipation of Ireland, however, the Duke was ultimately forced to resign, and the Tory parliament was dissolved.

Contents:

1 Food for Powder 1

2 All India 5

3 The Bridge Years, 1806-9 14

4 Fortress Portugal 24

5 Into Spain 34

6 Into France 43

7 The Duchess of Richmond's Ball 55

8 Waterloo 69

9 Westminster Warriors 89

10 Right About Face 118

11 The Other Side of the Hill 122.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0750926945

OCLC:

47119237